The Crimson of Your Lips
by Lady Stranger
Summary: SQ: Regina and Emma get stood up at the altar by Daniel and Neal. Things get complicated when both their parents become aware that there are no husbands-to-be, but Emma has a plan. (AU: One shot, kinda..sorta) Trigger warning for some violence and cursing.


I do not own Once. All characters belong to their respectful owners.

A/N: I had this story for about 3 months now, and my friend keeps bugging me to finish it. However, I can't finish it...I'm just gonna leave it as a one-shot ...mayyyybe I'll be inspired one day. But right now, I don't see a 2nd chapter. Some would ask why I'm sharing it at all, and I would tell them that maybe it will inspire someone else to write a similar story and then we can all be happy. :)

* * *

The Crimson of Your Lips

(One shot)

Almost every woman dreams of her wedding day as soon as she become aware of the whole 'marriage' concept. For some, that happens at 7, or at 14, and others, like Regina Mills, at 2 years old when her mother, Cora, had told her she would never love her if she didn't get married and gave her grandchildren.

"But I want you to love me, mommy," 2-year-old Regina had protested, doing her best not to cry because mommy doesn't like cry-babies, and that's something adult-Regina remembers all too well. Even that one time when she was 21 and her left heel broke while she was giving her mother a tour, making her fall face first on the concrete ground inside her university campus. Still, that day she'd gotten up, shook it off, and walked back home but only to discover that she actually needed 3 stitches on her forehead.

The most important thing, is that she didn't cry and her mommy had been proud of her.

Now, though, all she wants to do is cry her heart out. Now, as she stands in her hotel room, her honeymoon suit at that, her mind reminds her of all the times she'd wanted to cry just in the past 3 weeks. Coincidently, 3 weeks is exactly how long her mother had been staying with her; planning her daughter's wedding.

"Whatever you think is best, mother," Regina shared a glance with her fiance, Daniel, and she could tell that he wasn't all that happy with the decisions his mother-in-law was making. Storybrooke may be a small town in its size, but there was nothing wrong with the large, lovely chapel the town already had. To fly all guests to Boston just so they could make a 'huge splash,' or whatever Cora wanted, was not something Daniel was willing to spend money on.

"With all due respect, Cora, I don't have the money for all the guests. Plus some of them have children and attachments on the next day, and so it might be inconvenient for them to travel on such short notice."

Cora quirked her brows, then looked over at her daughter, fixing her with the 'look' she always had when she wanted Regina to behave. "What do you think, Regina?"

The wedding was gonna take place in Storybrooke, in exchange, Cora was to plan every little detail of the wedding, including what Regina wore, and no questions asked; or objections made. That had been the deal, no matter how faulty or unfair it might have been.

During the first week, all Cora did was just that. One huge change she made, was opting for a church, and going with a 5-star hotel; one that had 3 halls and 'room to breathe.' She tried canceling all weddings happening around the time her daughter was getting married, but the hotel respectfully declined her request.

"You'll have to shine even more," Cora patted her daughter on the head, and Regina just smiled and nodded in agreement. When Daniel leaned over and whispered into her ears that she already shines more than anyone he'd known, the 25-year-old blushed, and gave her man a chaste kiss, which Cora didn't appreciate.

Next thing Cora changed, was the flower arrangements. Being that the wedding is taking place in the biggest hall at the hotel, Cora found it too cliche to cover the room with red roses and went with Marigolds and red Carnations.

After much alteration and reordering from Cora's part, 3 weeks later, Regina found herself at her wedding hall, not recognizing any of the setting, theme, or even her dress that had been promptly changed, but rather last-minute. Cora only said that her previous dress made her look like a slut.

When she came home that day, Regina vented to Daniel about how impossible her mother was being, but the man just shrugged and asked her what she expected from a monster like her mother?

They fought afterwards, and Regina slipped into the bathroom to cry. When it was bedtime, Regina made-up with Daniel and promised him that after the wedding, she would stand-up to her mother more, or else her mother would do anything to ruin her life if done before.

* * *

"Whatever you want," Emma said for the hundredth time that evening. Her mother, Mary Margaret, was asking her if she preferred the daises or the lilies for the hall decorations. Now if Emma gave a crap, she would really think about it, but this was not the wedding of her dreams like it was for her mother. No, this was a shotgun wedding at best. Neal, her partner-in-crime, knocked her up at only 17, and to save her mother the embarrassment, she'd agreed to do this.

Funny thing, though, she's 17 and Neal's 20 something. If she wanted, she could easily get rid of him since she was technically a minor. But then again, it was the shame her parents were worried about and not her happiness. In fact, they were so afraid that they flew all the way to Storybrooke, a town located at nowhere, to have the ceremony in peace; away from people's eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to take that tone with me?" Mary Margaret yelled, and Emma just rolled her eyes. Here we go again, she thought. Mommy wanted a little princes and instead got a 'slut,' not that it was her fault her hormones were raging. She is, after all, a teenager.

"Fine, I pick the wisteria ones. They look cool," she said, and her mom nodded, jotting down on her note book.

"Was that so bad?" She murmured as an afterthought, and Emma shook her head a no, then left the room. She knew what her mother was doing, or rather what her sense of guilt was doing. But including her on every decision still did not make it Emma's idea to marry. If anything, it was making more and more angry with her parents. Even more when the word 'adoption' slipped her lips, and her parents made sure it was never uttered ever again.

* * *

Her father took her out to a bar 2 weeks before the wedding, buying her her first beer. He told her that since she was gonna be an adult in the most possible real way, then a memory of her first beer is something her wanted to cherish before she retired his 'little gir' job.

Emma, of course, didn't have the heart to hell him she'd already drank before; beer and wine, and many more. Short of strong drugs like heroin and meth, Emma had tried anything from smoking, sleeping pills, weed, and prescribed medication for autism; courtesy of her friend, August.

"I hope you realize this doesn't mean you get to drink before you're of age. Or that you can drink more than these few sips, you're still pregnant," David told her, draping his right arm over his daughter's shoulder and smiling down at her.

Emma adjusted her blonde curls, then put her game-face on, "of course not," she told him. It did feel lonely, the impending fact that she was departing the safety of her home and parents. No matter their differences, Emma still loved her parents dearly.

That day, David showed Emma the ring he'd gotten for Neal. The man was a pathetic loser who was a rapist, despite Emma's protest, and David didn't put it past him that he'd show up on the wedding day with a ring fashioned out of metal wires and fake pearls.

"Keep it," he told her, and Emma slipped the ring inside her chain, and wore it around her neck for safekeeping. The emerald diamond digging at the flesh between her breasts.

* * *

Regina stares at her reflection in the small mirror at her hotel room, willing herself not to breakdown. She's getting married in just an hour, and Daniel had sent her a txt, only ten minutes ago, saying how her mother was in the way of their relationship. She'd called him several times now, but to no avail.

Her heartbeats pick up really fast when her mother comes knocking at her door, and she can feel it in her guts that Daniel won't show show up, but what will she even tell her mother?

"Regina, darling," Cora greets as she closes the door behind her with an index finger like the door knob is made of germs.

"Mother," Regina breathes out, "what brings you here?"

"Well, I was entertaining the guests, dear, but I couldn't help but notice that your husband-to-be still has not arrived."

Regina smiles, "oh, I know," she tells her mother. Don't lose your nerves, she coaches herself. She's done this before, lying to her mother, so she knows what to say and not say. It's like a game to her by now, a game she's not willing to lose. "He said he's gonna make sure the house was clean for when we go home tomorrow."

"Did he?" Cora cocks her head to the side, "I thought your dear Kathryn took care of that. Had her little servants clean-up the place."

"She did," Regina says calmly, "but apparently they didn't clean the bathroom tiles, and you know how full of germs those are."

Cora's face distorts for a second, "thank you for placing that image in my mind, dear." She places a hand on her daughter's right cheek, "and darling?" She drawls, adjusting Regina's necklace around her neck.

"Yes, mother?"

"Don't screw this up."

* * *

She's officially freaking out. It is now time to walk down the aisle, and Daniel is nowhere to be found. In a desperate move to save her dignity from her mother's bashing, she calls him again, and this time she leaves a voicemail she will always regret, and for as long as she lives.

She begs him. She asks him to save her just this once, because he doesn't know what Cora will do to her, and it's not something they've discussed before. No, they didn't discuss how her mother gets violent when she's mad, or how her connections are enough to strip away Regina of her diploma.

When begging doesn't help, she tries to negotiate. "Just marry me," she tells him, "and I swear I will spend the rest of my life making you happy."

At that, Daniel picks up the phone, "Regina," he says, and the brunette's heart sinks back to its place.

"Daniel, where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Regina..." He tells her, and there's a hitch in his voice that confirms he's been drinking.

"We're getting married in just a few minutes," she tells him. "Everyone's waiting, where are you?"

"I-I can't do this, baby, I can't marry you."

"Daniel, don't do this!" She exclaims, already knowing her mother would come knocking at her door in a few; making sure everything is alright. Regina had sent Kathryn to distract her mother, but she figures that's not gonna last all day.

"Why are you marrying me anyway..? Huh!? All I keep hearing is mother this and mother that."

"I'm marrying you because I love you, Daniel, and you love me, too. We've been dating for three years and we love each other."

Daniel doesn't say a thing, but Regina thinks she's getting to him, so she continues, "we bought a house together, and we're gonna give birth to beautiful babies and raise them well. Do you remember our plan, my love?"

Daniel remains quiet.

"After we get married, my mother won't have a say in anything that we do, she'll be a fly on the wall, I promise you that. But before I can push her out of my life-"

"That's just it, 'Gina, you can't push her out, she'll just come right back. And to be honest..." He trails.

"What?" Regina snaps when Daniel's quiet for too long, "what do you want to say?"

"N...nothin," he stammers, "abs-solutely nothin."

Regina can't help but cry, but she does her best not to let her ex-fiance notice. Her make-up is definitely smudge, and one look at the mirror tells her that if the disappearance of Daniel doesn't break the news to everyone she knows, then her face will.

"You ran away, Daniel, I think I deserve the real reason why you..." she trails, sighing into her phone. "Why you decided to leave me."

"I..I.." Daniel exhales, "it's just not worth it, Regina...all this controlling. It's not worth it."

A knock finally sounds on her door, and Regina knows this is it. This is how she will become the first person ever to die of pure shame. And much to Regina's guess, it's her mother asking her how she managed to repulse yet another man.

* * *

"He's not gonna show up," Emma says, slumping to her feet and taking off her short heels.

"You don't know that, honey," her mother, ever the hopeful, assures her daughter with a small smile.

"I agree with your mother," David says, not really believing his own wife, but there's always that chance that people will surprise you. "A man is not a man if he leaves his woman, pregnant with his child."

Emma snorts, "Neal's not a man...he's more like a dildo."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret scolds, and David just looks away blushing.

They spend ten more minutes in silence, but then Emma gets morning sickness, and runs to the bathroom. Her mother offers to go with her, but Emma asks her for this small moment of privacy.

In the bathroom, after she empties her stomach and washes her face, she takes out her phone from inside her bra, and calls Neal. He picks up after the third ring, "Emma," he says casually, "what's up?"

"Nothing much," she tells him, "but you know we're getting married today, right?"

"Shit!" He says, "was that today?"

"Kinda, yeah," she wipes her mouth with a paper bag, "where the hell are you, dickhead?"

"Hey, hey...there's no need to be a bitch."

"Sorry, where the hell are you, asshole?"

"Always he charmer," he muses, "I'm on a job in Florida, babe, can't make it to the wedding, sorry."

Emma bites on the inside of her cheeks, knowing full well that he's lying. He's probably somewhere, getting high and gambling his ass off. She should've known that he was a hobo and not a hipster; but honestly sometimes they all look the same to her. Not that Neal's a homeless, he's just a screwup and a junkie with a proper roof over his head.

She hangs up then, and smiles to herself in the mirror. She didn't want to do this anyway. Neal just saved her the trouble of acting out later on to get a divorce. The issue remains, though, that her parents are still expecting a wedding, and to save herself from the lectures to come, Emma decides an escape plan is in need.

* * *

She's been hiding in the supply room for almost an hour, her feet are starting to hurt, but Regina will be caught dead before she takes off her heels. She might not have the same germ-phopia her mother has, but she sure as hell won't go barefoot, standing next to a mop.

Her cheek still hurt from the sting of her mother's slap, and she has a bloody upper lip, but the worst part is hopefully over. Or at least the awkward, most embarrassing part is; though Regina is sure there's plenty to come.

She's about to leave the room, when someone, another bride it seems, walks in, and closes the door behind her, locking it from the inside. When the blonde woman turns to face her, Regina takes a step back, assessing the situation. She's never seen this woman around town, and it's a small town where everyone knows everyone.

"You have got to be kidding me," Emma says, "are you running away from your folks, too?"

Regina nods after a moment of hesitation, "why did you lock the door?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest. The room is still dark expect for the small lightbulb hanging over their heads.

"Oh," Emma looks away, "my parents will come looking for me cause my soon-to-be husband of a jackass walked out on me and my mom is one second away from flipping. What's your story, lady?"

Regina shrugs, "none of your business." She says curtly, "please unlock the door, and let me can do whatever you want with the place after I leave."

Emma rolls her eyes, "yeah, not happening. They're gonna be here any minute now. And if you're the runaway bride from that giant-ass hall filled with snobs, you wouldn't want me to open the door anyway."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina says.

"Uh, nothing," Emma says, and the brunette turns away.

"Why are you here?" Regina suddenly asks, letting out a sigh. It's been a long day...no, it's been a long couple of weeks, and she's so very tired. When Emma offers her no response, she turns to face her once more, this time actually taking in the beauty before her.

"How old are you anyway?" She asks, taking in Emma's strapless satin gown, an off-white satin ribbon hugging her slim waist. The color is identical to Regina's own over-all lace overlay that falls over the shape of her curves perfectly. "You look even younger than I do." She says, and Emma smiles.

"I'm probably younger," she says, "how old are you?"

"Twenty five," Regina says, "but I feel so much older than that." She looks down at her feet, looking up after a while. Emma thinks the older woman is about to say more, but the brunette shakes her head in dismissal.

"I know the feeling," Emma shares, and she really does know the feeling. With make-up and her hair curled around her face, no one would guess she's still in high school, and that her parents had signed permission papers for her to get married, but she also doesn't like it when people treat her like she's a girl and not a woman.

"Please unlock the door, I need to leave," Regina exhales deeply, then moves to stand next to the door once more.

"I saw your mom, she was looking for you," Emma tells her.

"What do you mean looking for me? It's been an hour since I hid here. Everyone must be gone by now."

Emma gives her a small smile, "you're Regina, right? I'm Emma." When Regina raises a brow, Emma shrugs, "people are looking for you. Your mom is set on having the wedding with or without this Daniel...or something."

Well, her plan to hide until everyone leaves has just been proven useless. And frankly, she's not the type to hide away from anyway, too, but it's her mother she fears. Her mother would ruin her more than she's already ruined, and today Regina's not in the mood for that.

"Uh..do you know someone named Graham?" Emma breaks her train of thoughts.

"He's the sheriff in this town, why do you ask?" Regina thinks back on the time mommy dearest had wanted her to date him, but the man had already been otherwise attached. Regina remembers her mother saying she wished it didn't work between him and his at-the-time girlfriend; and not six months later, Regina had heard of their breakup.

"There was this blonde...pretty blonde, and your mom was telling her to go get this Graham dude. But the blonde was all like, she doesn't want to marry him, Cora, she loves Daniel...bla bla..and that's when I walked by them and then hid here."

"No, no, no," Regina crumbles to the floor. "This can't be happening. I won't do it, I won't marry him just to give her children, why can't she understand that!?"

How ironic, Emma thinks. She's being forced to marry to hide a child, and this woman is being forced to marry to produce one. She takes out her phone out of her bra, and fires Ruby a txt asking if the few guests that had lingered at her side of the hotel are still there or not.

The reply is almost immediate, and yes, aside from her weeping mother who David took up to their room, everyone is still there; probably waiting to console Emma. Her mom might be controlling and too much at times, but they are a family that loves one another, unlike the case with Regina, whose overbearing mother cares only for her own needs.

Emma stares at the heap of white, defeated and about-to-cry wreck, and gets a brilliant idea. Okay, it might not be the brightest idea she'd gotten, but it certainly tops going home to Boston and facing her friends at school with a belly full of baby and minus a husband. She won't be the cool girl who had an older boyfriend anymore, she will the dumb nerd who got herself knocked up.

And it's in her power to save this woman from embarrassment, if only for the day until the hoards of guests leave her to be, then so be it. She would make the sacrifice.

"Regina?" She says softly, gathering her wedding gown in her hands and crouching down next to the brunette. "I have a proposal," she says, and when the older woman doesn't stir or show intent to move away, Emma gambles and places a palm on Regina's back.

"Listen, I have an idea. Your mom...she sounds like a bitch-" at that, Regina snaps her head up and she glares at the younger woman. Emma holds her hands up in surrender and shakes her head, "I don't know her, she might be a lovely person when she's...not being a bitch."

"She's my mother," Regina stresses the word 'mother' like it's offering explanation to Cora's behavior. "She just wants what's best for me."

"Do you want to get married to this Graham character, then?" Emma says, already knowing the answer from the way Regina's expression turns from angry to painful; almost like the way the sky changes color when the sun sets down.

"No," the answer is short, and tastes bitter in Regina's mouth. Graham is a good friend, but she also knows that if she does marry him, he would want to give it a real go at their wedding, and that's not something she's willing to do. Not when the man feels like a brother to her.

"But I don't want to disappoint mother, the repercussions are even worse if I don't marry him."

"Jeez, woman!" Emma lets out a big sigh, "you're the one getting married, not your mom. She shouldn't have a say in something this huge in your life."

"What about you!?" Regina snaps, "aren't you hiding from your parents because you're doing just that? Allowing them to decide your future husband for you."

"Hey! My situation is different. I have to get married or my life will become a complete disaster. I don't have a choice."

"Exactly," Regina says, pushing Emma away and getting on her feet. She smoothes the wrinkles on her dress, and goes to stand by the door.

Emma follows her, "you didn't hear my proposal."

"Unlock the door."

"Hear me out first."

"Unlock the door, Emma."

"Not before you hear me out," Emma says, blocking the door with her body. "How about you and me getting married?" When Regina tries to force-take the key from her, Emma shrieks. "Careful, lady, I have a baby in there!"

Regina freezes. She takes a step back, her eyes wide in shock. Emma shrugs under Regina's scrutinizing stare, and the brunette finds herself feeling guilty. All this woman is trying to do is try to console her, and all she's doing is pouting like some six-year-old who's refusing to go to class because the room is too scary.

"It's a shotgun wedding?" She asks, and Emma shrugs.

"What is this?" Regina says, shrugging in the same way Emma had shrugged. "Last time I checked, this," she shrugs once more, "is not a suitable answer."

"Yes!" Emma exclaims, "yes! It's a wedding my parents put together so I don't be known to everyone as the slut they know I am, but now that Neal walked-out on me, everyone is definitely gonna know. Are you happy now?"

Regina looks away, "oh," she says, but her pride is too concentrated to full-heartedly apologize. Although she does have the sense to look sheepish as she says her next words, "what is your proposal?"

Emma rolls her eyes, "never mind," she says, unlocking the door and throwing the key on the ground. She does realize she's being a brat right now, but she never claimed she wasn't one.

Regina stares at the key, and then her eyes find Emma, "you're acting like a child," she says, picking up the key and locking the door once more. "Are you sure you should be getting married? Don't you have some growing up to do first?"

Fucking people! Those words, those fucking words are always being thrown at her face. Age is just a number, Emma wants to tell her, but it's not worth it. People who tell her to grow up are not worth her time. She's been a grown-up for quite some time now, why can't people understand that?

She might be 17, and she might still wears pjs to bed, but that doesn't mean she's a child.

Emma shakes her head, looking at Regina with something akin to disgust. Nothing more needs to be said, she unlocks and opens the door, leaving the dark room only to collide, at full force, with a woman who looks fairly similar to Regina's bitch of a mother.

* * *

"You will walk in there and you will get married," Cora says through gritted teeth. Regina doesn't understand the amount of shame is clouding her mother's judgement at the moment, and so foolishly decides now is the time to stand-up to her.

"No," she says. "I won't marry Graham."

Cora's eyes widen almost in that comical way cartoons always exaggerate, but then they go back to normal as she steps closer and into her daughter's personal space. "You will marry him, Regina darling, and you will save whatever dignity you have left."

"Daniel walked out on me," she says like that's gonna make a difference at all.

"And how does that make you feel, dear?" Cora says, cocking her head to the side, her fingers digging in Regina's forearms. When she thinks skin is gonna break, she stops just enough so no marks are left behind, but making sure she's still hurting her.

Regina knows this is a trick question and says nothing. But the world is already upside down, and chances are she's going to face punishment one way or the other, and that's the last push she's ever going to need.

With one fast swoosh, she yanks her hands away from her mother, "no," she repeats her answer. "I won't marry Graham, and I won't marry whoever man you throw my way next."

"Is that so?"

Regina straightens her shoulders, and holds her head up high, "yes," she tells her. 'Yes,' one word that holds so many years of bad experiences and ugly memories; but necessary defiance that is the first step in making her speak-up more against her-

* * *

She didn't see it coming, a slap across the face and then she was dragged away from people's eyes and back inside the supply room where no one can save her. Not Even Emma, the beautiful woman who'd been nothing but sweet towards her.

Around the fourth slap, Regina loses count. Her face is throbbing with pain, and she can definitely taste blood inside her mouth. A little more, and her body would crumble under her mother's crulity. Her only wish now, before she passes out, is that when people do find her, it'd be either Kathryn or a stranger. Someone who's not gonna judge.

Cora pushes her to the floor, and launches at her like an animal going after its prey. "Fix your face," she whispers in her ear, "and get married today, darling. Don't forget that mother knows best, and if you ask me, I will tell you that you won't do better than Graham." With that, she leaves her daughter, but not without throwing her a final warning not to disobey her.

No one was asking, Regina thinks, her head too heavy atop her neck.

* * *

Emma finds Ruby and the rest of the guests still waiting in the hall. They've ventured into the buffet, some of them already stuffing their pockets with shrimp and buttered bread which Emma finds adorable. The way they were able to pay for the wedding, anyway, was by all of them chiming in to purchase the tickets, rent the hotel rooms, and pay for the buffet and wedding preparations. One big happy family, they are.

It's a shame, though, that no one got the chance to get married.

She sighs then, "I had this perfect idea," she murmurs under her breath.

Ruby looks up from where she's standing, "what is it?"

Emma looks left, then right, making sure the coast is clear. "There was this woman, Regina, and her mother was being such a bitch."

"And?" Ruby says, dragging her friend outside and into a corridor. "What did Regina do?"

"Nothing, her mother was being a bitch and saying how she should get married to this man her daughter is not even dating. Actually, she was flat-out forcing her."

"Like what...forcing her and stuff?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Dude that's illegal. This Regina can say no."

"Right!?" Emma exhales defeatedly, "that's what I've been telling her, but she doesn't want to listen to me."

"Where is she?" Ruby asks, curiosity getting the best out of her.

"She left with her mother a while ago...guess she's gonna get married."

"What...that's so sad," Ruby says, feeling genuinely bad for the woman. But, "lets go watch!" she says next and the sadness evaporates.

* * *

Regina's not at the hall, and by complete coincident and perhaps by a bit of fate's intervention, they decide to go check out the supply room. And much to their surprise, they find her there; passed out with a bloody face.

"I'm going to kill her!" Regina says, once she's cleaned up her face, and reapplied her make-up. She wants to change out of her dress, but she knows her mother would be waiting for her somewhere outside Emma's hotel room, and right now she needs the safety of these four walls.

"Regina," Emma says, eyeing Ruby warily. "Can you give us a minute?" She asks, and Ruby shakes her head.

"No way. I'm not gonna leave you alone with her."

"She's harmless," she says, and Ruby stops herself from laughing.

"I know that, but this is too interesting to pass on," she sits on the bed then, watching intently like it's some reality t.v. show.

"Arrgh," Emma lets out in frustration. "Fine." She moves to sit on her knees in front of the brunette, and looks up at her. The older woman doesn't move her eyes from her own reflection on the mirror, but she doesn't push Emma's hand away when it finds her own.

"My mother will find me here," Regina murmurs to herself.

"She won't," Emma assures, "I won't let her find you. But before she gets the chance to even look for you, want to do something crazy?"

Regina snorts, "I'm not in the mood for your games, dear."

"But don't you want to make a statement? Don't you just want to teach your mother a lesson for a change?"

"By marrying you?" Regina says.

"Oooooh," Ruby drawls, "what is going on, Emma?"

"By marrying me, yes. It won't be a real marriage, of course, but it will keep both our parents off our can even raise my son if you want?"

"You want to stay married for ever?"

"For ever is a long time, Regina." Emma stands up then, moving to sit on the bed.

"You're crazy," the brunette says, "and getting married would be crazy."

"I know," Emma grins, "that's exactly what I'm going for. Imagine the look on your mother's face when she finds out?"

"She's have a heart attack," Regina says, "possibly try to murder me."

"Won't she try to murder you either way?"

Yes she would, Regina thinks. Her mother would destroy her even if she didn't marry Emma. At least with doing that, she gets to get a rise out of her mother.

"Fine," Regina says, and Ruby's eyes widen.

"Fuck!" Ruby says, "dude, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting married," she tells her, "I'm fucking getting married, that's what I'm doing!" Regina, and for the first time today, laughs at the younger woman.

To hell with it, Regina thinks, walking out Emma's room and heading to the smaller wedding hall.


End file.
